ROANOKE, Va., Feb. 14, 2011 –    Appalachian Power is encouraging its Public Authority (PA) customers in Virginia to replace existing standard lighting with new energy-saving lighting and is offering cash incentives to reduce up-front costs and lower long-term power bills.
            Public Authority customers are generally governmental entities—cities, towns and county government agencies—which are served by Appalachian Power under a negotiated power contract.    
            “We believe that, especially in these tough budget times for local governments, the incentive provided by Appalachian Power can help offset cash shortages and allow these customers to immediately increase energy efficiency,” said James Fawcett, the company’s manager of energy efficiency and consumer programs.
            “The new lighting will also translate into lower on-going energy costs for these governments,” added Fawcett.
            PA customers must apply for the incentives, ranging from $2,000 up to $9,000 per customer, by March 15. If approved, the customer will have six months to complete the lighting project to receive final approval and payment from the company.
            The incentive will apply to the replacement of fixtures and bulbs.
            The program is part of an agreement reached in 2009 as part of rate negotiations for Appalachian’s PA customers. A second phase of incentives may be implemented if funding is available.
            Appalachian Power provides electricity to 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee. It is a unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system.
 
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